horsebanger wrote:Hello everyone. I recently began watching some j-dramas and I really enjoyed them (thanks for uploading and subbing!). However, since it's all fairly new to me, I have no idea which shows are good and which shows I might aswell avoid, and so I would love it if you could push me in a good direction by suggesting your favourite 5 j-dramas.

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!

Thanks in advance, sincerely and with love,

horsebanger.

"Hana Yori Dango" is probably the most famous one. It's very addictive and also funny. I got one of my friends hooked on it and she wasn't even a fan of dramas or Asia in general for the matter.

"Hotaru no Hikari" is also very funny and heartwarming. I recommend to watch this drama if you're feeling depressed, or are in the mood for something a little silly. The chemistry between the two leads is incredible!

"Smile": if you're looking for something really moving, I highly recommend this one. This drama and its ending really touched me, but not in a depressing way. It kind of gives you hope and makes you reflect about the way you lead your life. It also shows a rather negative aspect of Japanese society, but if you're like me and you have studied Japanese society, it makes this drama all the more interesting.

"1 Litre of Tears": if you're looking for something really depressing. This was one of the first dramas I ever watched and I still think it's one of the best ones ever made. The fact that it's based on a true story makes it all the more sad.

"Byakuyakou": if you're looking for something twisted but very well-written. The story, albeit very dark, is really fascinating. The drama was later adapted into a movie, but I saw it in the cinema and it was no way near as good as the drama version. That's why I recommend you to watch the drama first before anything. The relationship between the two main characters will make you reconsider what "love" means, and I don't mean that in a positive way.

"1 Million Stars Fall From the Sky": again a very twisted story, and a very unexpected ending. Better stay unspoiled though... the ending was quite a shock to me and made me look at the drama in a totally different light once it was over.

"Last Friends": really interesting story. Two of my friends got sucked into it just by watching me watch it a few years ago. Plus, Nishikido Ryo is awesome in the role he's given here!

Other famous dramas are "Gokusen", "Hana Kimi", and "Nodame Cantabile" but I didn't particularly enjoy them so I personally wouldn't recommend them to you.

horsebanger wrote:Hello everyone. I recently began watching some j-dramas and I really enjoyed them (thanks for uploading and subbing!). However, since it's all fairly new to me, I have no idea which shows are good and which shows I might aswell avoid, and so I would love it if you could push me in a good direction by suggesting your favourite 5 j-dramas.

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!

Thanks in advance, sincerely and with love,

horsebanger.

Well I started with Nobuta wo produce and it is still one of my favourite dramas, so it's something worth watching. Buzzer Beat - one of the best romance dramas of the last years (it aired in 2009).1 litre of tears and Koizora are just MUST watch dramas that everyone should see. Both of them are sad stories, but without seeing them you'll miss big time. Well I liked 1 litre of tears more, but they are both high-rated dramas.Proposal Daisakusen is also one of my favourite dramas (seen it more than 5 times). Full of romance and comedy, also a lot of heartbreak. This year the Korean version aired with a lot more romance and far less comedy. So I recommend to watch the original.Stand Up!! and Hana Kimi are the best school-comedies I've seen. Seriously whenever I think about them I just can't stop laughing.

Those are the dramas that are best for the people who are rather new to the drama-world. They are easy, understandable and addicting and help you to get into more serious drama (I think it is rather difficult for "newbies" to watch "profession-dramas", so I'm not writing down any medical or detective ones). After watching those I'm sure you'll find your own favorite ones. Also I think it's good to start with the so-called MUST LIST (the dramas that everybody talk about even 5-10 years later - you can find them by looking at what people write about the most.

I just watched "Tsumi to Batsu." I'm kinda starting to realize that the less mainstream Jdrama typically have better scripts and acting. So now I'm looking for less well known drama that's well produced. I'm okay both light and dark/serious drama, as long as it's not a idol-based drama. I just had too many bad experience with those (Nobuta wo Produce, Hanayori Dango, Proposal Daisakusen, etc...). None of those guys can act.

Anyhow, whether it be romance/comedy or dark/mystery, I'm open to all genre. My recent favorites include Kekkon Dekinai Otoko, Byakuyakou, Soredemo Ikite Yuku, and Last Friends. Please help me out here...

Did you watch Nodame Cantabile? Mainstream and still fun. You must not hate classical music though. I really liked The five bags of Ueno Juri too. She rocks!
From 2003 is Suika. Very laid back subtle comedy.

@Domerr
i liked Tsumi to Batsu too. just watched 2 eps. hope somebody picks it up. for me it's really hard to understand without subs
as less well known and well produced dramas, i recommend u to watch W no Higeki, Kingyo Club, Yuusha Yoshihiko and Meitantei no okite

Thanks for the reply guys. I watched the anime Nodame Cantabile, but haven't watched drama version yet. For some reason I've been pushing it off. I guess I'll give it a try. Tried Suika but dropped it. Didn't really catch my interest.

Already watched Yuusha Yoshihiko. It was pure lol. Dropped Kingyo Club after first ep. It was too much of a chick flick... (I'm a dude lol). I guess I can also give Meitantei no Okite a try, but I've never really been a fan of Matsuda Shota. He always has that same expression... no versatility as an actor. Liar Game could have been so much better if they chose a different actor... oh well.

Anywayz, haven't seen meitante no okite either. kinda looks promising. Matsuda Shota is actually very funny in Don Quixote, Don Quixote is fun, but the ending sucks somewhat. I really liked Ashita no Kita Yoshio though (has a role for Shota's brother Ryuhei). Seems to fit your profile.
There's a couple of very obscure little series which are very funny: Konno-san to Asobo (very weird and sexy), Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan (very very weird and somewhat sexy), Camouflage (with Aoi Yuu!) and Fukatsu Eri no Black Comedy. These are experimental and absurd. Not mainstream

One more thing, just in case you haven't seen it: Tiger & Dragon! Yes it has Johnny's, and yes, it has Ito Misaki, but it is incredibly well written, and Nagase Tomoya transcended the whole idol thing as far as I'm concerned.
Another more thing: mainstream detective thingy gone haywire is Gonzo. Brilliant!

Dropped Don Quixote. Matsuda's acting in there just seems so forced. Already watched Ashita no Kita Yoshio and Gonzo, both were easily forgettable. I guess I'll give Tiger & Dragon a try. Also, I read the synopses for those experimental dramas you listed... damn they do seem really weird lol. Which one of those did you enjoy the most?

Anyhow, I wish Shida Mirai gets more lead roles. She was awesome in Himitsu, though that was a wtf drama...in a good way. Any other less well known drama? I probably already know most of the big name ones...including the idol dramas (they tend to be more mainstream).

I think you don't need many recommendations, You've been there.
From the experimental series I mentioned I liked Ueno Juri to Itsutsu no Kaban the best, and Konno-san to Asobo a very good second. Fukatsu Eri's series has some really intriguing eps and some that I didn't like at all. Aoi Yuu is good as always, but the series is a bit pretentious... Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan is very low budget and alas, has no subs. Still fun to watch. I love Torii Miyuki's faces : )

antspace wrote:
One more thing, just in case you haven't seen it: Tiger & Dragon! Yes it has Johnny's, and yes, it has Ito Misaki, but it is incredibly well written, and Nagase Tomoya transcended the whole idol thing as far as I'm concerned.

I second that completely. I was blown away by the script and directing. T&D is definitely one of the rare gems.

Alright, T&D is on my to watch list. Already watched Atami no Sousakan and loved it. Dropped Jikou Keisatsu. I guess I can try out Bloody Monday season 1, the synopses seems interesting. Mirrai Nikki...hmmm okay I'll give that a try as well. GTO, that's a classic and I think every Jdrama fan already watched that lol.

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some J-Drama suggestions.
I've only really every watched three of them: IWGP, which I enjoyed for the setting, Dragonzakura, which I just finished episode 4 of and am considering dropping (the teenage acting is very iffy for me, it gets distracting) and Ryuusei, which I dropped... I don't know why, I was enjoying it.

So I'm looking for something hopefully with good acting, if it's aimed at adults even better. It's not that I don't like school life stuff, but only if it doesn't have awkward acting.

I'm looking for some interesting j-drama. I've only watched 3 so far and it's really hard for me to find an interesting one. Can someone recommend me a j-drama, that has a continuous story? For ex. I don't want a j-drama like the dramas that have a teacher be in charge of a class of problematic students, because every episode is for a certain student and his problem, and the "main" story doesn't progress much. Or j-dramas about lawyers, in which every episode is a new case. I don't like such j-dramas. The first 2 dramas i watched were like that (Hammer Session, Majisuka Gakuen) and i recently watched Watashi ga renai dekinai riyuu and i found that really interesting because it was different than the first two. I don't really care for genre, as long as it's not like the dramas i mentioned (every episode is a separate story kinda).
Please tell me some if you know, because i'd really like to get into j-drama, but finding interesting ones is really hard :/
Thanks in advance~

nasadigital wrote:I'm looking for some interesting j-drama. I've only watched 3 so far and it's really hard for me to find an interesting one. Can someone recommend me a j-drama, that has a continuous story? For ex. I don't want a j-drama like the dramas that have a teacher be in charge of a class of problematic students, because every episode is for a certain student and his problem, and the "main" story doesn't progress much. Or j-dramas about lawyers, in which every episode is a new case. I don't like such j-dramas. The first 2 dramas i watched were like that (Hammer Session, Majisuka Gakuen) and i recently watched Watashi ga renai dekinai riyuu and i found that really interesting because it was different than the first two. I don't really care for genre, as long as it's not like the dramas i mentioned (every episode is a separate story kinda).
Please tell me some if you know, because i'd really like to get into j-drama, but finding interesting ones is really hard :/
Thanks in advance~

Why in the world would you watch Majisuka Gakuen.... that's as low quality as you get. Anyhow, you can try out some of the dramas that I've mentioned above. Also, were you previously a Kdrama fan and want something similar?

@jasminee,
Indeed, Keizoku 2: SPEC was awesome. Acting by the two main leads were really natural.

nasadigital wrote:I'm looking for some interesting j-drama. I've only watched 3 so far and it's really hard for me to find an interesting one. Can someone recommend me a j-drama, that has a continuous story? For ex. I don't want a j-drama like the dramas that have a teacher be in charge of a class of problematic students, because every episode is for a certain student and his problem, and the "main" story doesn't progress much. Or j-dramas about lawyers, in which every episode is a new case. I don't like such j-dramas. The first 2 dramas i watched were like that (Hammer Session, Majisuka Gakuen) and i recently watched Watashi ga renai dekinai riyuu and i found that really interesting because it was different than the first two. I don't really care for genre, as long as it's not like the dramas i mentioned (every episode is a separate story kinda).
Please tell me some if you know, because i'd really like to get into j-drama, but finding interesting ones is really hard :/
Thanks in advance~

Have you seen Umizaru? I recently did a marathon on that. Almost every episode has a case, but the story also develops. It's an action flick so I find it doesn't get boring except maybe the first movie. The sequence is movie 1, drama, movie 2, movie 3. The 4th movie recently came out and was a box office hit, so the franchise seems to be still doing well.
Itoh is also in a disturbing but interesting and action packed drama, Yasha. It depends if you're into dark stuff and can handle some disturbing undertone topics.

If you're into hospital dramas, there's General Rouge no Gaisen, Iryu, code blue, and Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji. It's a case per episode situation too, but I like to see them working hard or waving their magical skills to save lives. General Rouge has an investigation case going on in the back story. Jin is a popular drama too. It also has cases but it also deals with time travelling.

Romance wise, if you liked renai dekinai, you might like love shuffle and Real Clothes. Both have Karina in it. Similar to renai dekinai, there's Renai Neet. Boku to Star no 99 Nichi is also a nice romance story. It's similar to Body Guard. Yama Onna Kabe Onna is about fashion but also has some romance and some ecchi.

I also recommend Ashida Mana dramas too. She's a cutie and good actress.

nasadigital wrote:I'm looking for some interesting j-drama. I've only watched 3 so far and it's really hard for me to find an interesting one. Can someone recommend me a j-drama, that has a continuous story? For ex. I don't want a j-drama like the dramas that have a teacher be in charge of a class of problematic students, because every episode is for a certain student and his problem, and the "main" story doesn't progress much. Or j-dramas about lawyers, in which every episode is a new case. I don't like such j-dramas. The first 2 dramas i watched were like that (Hammer Session, Majisuka Gakuen) and i recently watched Watashi ga renai dekinai riyuu and i found that really interesting because it was different than the first two. I don't really care for genre, as long as it's not like the dramas i mentioned (every episode is a separate story kinda).
Please tell me some if you know, because i'd really like to get into j-drama, but finding interesting ones is really hard :/
Thanks in advance~

Have you seen Umizaru? I recently did a marathon on that. Almost every episode has a case, but the story also develops. It's an action flick so I find it doesn't get boring except maybe the first movie. The sequence is movie 1, drama, movie 2, movie 3. The 4th movie recently came out and was a box office hit, so the franchise seems to be still doing well.
Itoh is also in a disturbing but interesting and action packed drama, Yasha. It depends if you're into dark stuff and can handle some disturbing undertone topics.

If you're into hospital dramas, there's General Rouge no Gaisen, Iryu, code blue, and Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji. It's a case per episode situation too, but I like to see them working hard or waving their magical skills to save lives. General Rouge has an investigation case going on in the back story. Jin is a popular drama too. It also has cases but it also deals with time travelling.

Romance wise, if you liked renai dekinai, you might like love shuffle and Real Clothes. Both have Karina in it. Similar to renai dekinai, there's Renai Neet. Boku to Star no 99 Nichi is also a nice romance story. It's similar to Body Guard. Yama Onna Kabe Onna is about fashion but also has some romance and some ecchi.

I also recommend Ashida Mana dramas too. She's a cutie and good actress.

Hi, guys.
I am seeking for a dorama which can make us cry well or tear.
It will be great if it is a love story.
so far I have watched :
- ichi littoru no namida (cry almost all episodes )
- proposal daisakusen (cry out loud in special episode )
- hana yori dango ( sometimes cry in some scenes )
- guilty ( the ending is so nice)
- koizora (movie) ( cry when Hiro said "waratte" )
- tada, kimi wo aishiteru (not a dorama though) (cry when he visit the gallery )
- taiyou no uta (dorama version) (this one have a nice theme songs)

people said they cry when watching Ima, ai ni yukimasu.
but I wasn't crying. but yes it was a lil sad though.

any recommend ?
I have kamisama mou sukoshi dake in my must watch list

Hi guys, since i have some spare time lately, i wanted to get back into watching some more drama.

I am looking for anything really with a good storyline, i prefer martial arts or romance kind of stories, like kimi ga pet and my sassy girl, but i have a weakness for student teacher relationships when its a women teacher with a younger student. Also loved GTO which was really funny. Strawberry on the shortcake was good too. Loved Gokusen but just upset they never gave it the same ending as the manga ^^.

As for martial art drama,s one of my favorite stories is Legend of the condor heroes, and i like a few others like chinese paladin. So im just hoping to find a few good things to watch, if anyone has any recommendations for me, would love to hear about it, most important thing is storyline. I like getting into the story.

i download my dramas by years. im currently finish up 2009 doramas and downloading 2010's. quite alot of catching up to do :s

http://fansub.d-addicts.com/Jdrama_Fans ... inter_2010
from the link above, what are the good ones for winter and spring.
i watch almost all genres of dramas.
mind making some recommendations to which i should watch and which should i stay away from(draggy storyline for example).

tannl wrote:hi guys,http://fansub.d-addicts.com/Jdrama_Fans ... inter_2010
from the link above, what are the good ones for winter and spring.
i watch almost all genres of dramas.
mind making some recommendations to which i should watch and which should i stay away from(draggy storyline for example).

rocklagoon wrote:
I am looking for anything really with a good storyline, i prefer martial arts or romance kind of stories, like kimi ga pet and my sassy girl, but i have a weakness for student teacher relationships when its a women teacher with a younger student. Also loved GTO which was really funny. Strawberry on the shortcake was good too. Loved Gokusen but just upset they never gave it the same ending as the manga ^^.

As for martial art drama,s one of my favorite stories is Legend of the condor heroes, and i like a few others like chinese paladin. So im just hoping to find a few good things to watch, if anyone has any recommendations for me, would love to hear about it, most important thing is storyline. I like getting into the story.

Japanese don't really make good martial arts dramas. You're better off watching Chinese or Korean for that. They do have pretty good action stuff. Like Spaceship Yamato movie, Umizaru dramas and movies, 252 Signal of Life Movie, Yasha (disturbing story), etc.

K-20: Legend of the Mask does have some martial arts. Kamen rider series like Kabuto or Den-O. Garo is a pretty good fighting drama with a lot of CG.

EriKira wrote:Hi, guys.
I am seeking for a dorama which can make us cry well or tear.
It will be great if it is a love story.

Have you checked out love generation? I found that one pretty teary. It was heart wrenching. Virgin Road was kind of teary as well in a nice way. I cried when they parted ways and she said something like "fate won't happen a third time" or "fate won't happen again" and the ending was teary as well.

I'm looking for drama where the main protagonist lead a pitiful life, something like being fired of his work that he devoted all his life, being accused for a crime that he didn't do or anything else that's very dramatic. The example would be Shiroi Haru, the main protagonist is the nice guy but he just didn't have a choice.

tannl wrote:hi guys,http://fansub.d-addicts.com/Jdrama_Fans ... inter_2010
from the link above, what are the good ones for winter and spring.
i watch almost all genres of dramas.
mind making some recommendations to which i should watch and which should i stay away from(draggy storyline for example).

I'm looking for drama where the main protagonist lead a pitiful life, something like being fired of his work that he devoted all his life, being accused for a crime that he didn't do or anything else that's very dramatic. The example would be Shiroi Haru, the main protagonist is the nice guy but he just didn't have a choice.

seirin wrote:
I found Yankee and megane so so. It's so memorable, I can't even recall the story LOL.
Sunao pace could be faster, I found the mood slow. Maybe cuz I was watching it week by week.

Fall : Ogon no Buta, Marks no Yama looks interesting but haven't seen it yet. Jyuui Dolittle if you like animals. Strawberry Night is a must see.

If you like GTO types of dramas, there's Hammer Session.

what about tobo bengoshi and unubore deka?

I didn't watch either of them. Tobo Bengoshi might be okay but from the plot, it seems kind of repetitive like every episode, he provides legal advice. Unubore Deka post seems corny. After watching Nagase Tomoya in Karei naru Spy, this seems like something similar. I didn't like Karei naru Spy.

Jdrama people has there been any really sad jdrama come out this year or plan to in the future. I have seen most of the sad drama available and im really wanting more please if anyone can help it would be a life saver!

SithSylar wrote:Jdrama people has there been any really sad jdrama come out this year or plan to in the future. I have seen most of the sad drama available and im really wanting more please if anyone can help it would be a life saver!

Beautiful Rain is pretty sad. It just finished airing not long ago. It's about a single parent dad who has Early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

SithSylar wrote:Jdrama people has there been any really sad jdrama come out this year or plan to in the future. I have seen most of the sad drama available and im really wanting more please if anyone can help it would be a life saver!

Beautiful Rain is pretty sad. It just finished airing not long ago. It's about a single parent dad who has Early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

thanx for the recommendations... I've only watched Liar Game and The Quiz Show... I can't find any more psychological dramas...

can't finish Bloody Monday season 2... it is too draggy in my opinion... season 1 was good though...

Hello everyone!
Please help me out: my wife and I like to improve our knowledge of Japanese by watching dramas.
So we're always in need of some suggestions.
As we are already over thirty years old, there are a lot of things we can't stand anymore — like shallow Aidoru shows, endless „gambaru“-talk, ever returning plot devices like the „big incident/ returning ex“ in the next-to-last episode and stupidities like people running to the hospital with somebody on their back who's nearly dying because he catched a cold after being hit by three raindrops.

Our japanese is not yet good enough for medical shows or shows with a lot of technical or juridical babble. (But we aren't very interested in such shows either.)
So far we liked:
# light-hearted family shows like „Oyaji“, „Otousan“, „Dareyori Mama wo aisu“ and „11nin mo iru“
# quirky shows like „Trick“, „Shikaotoko“ and „Yuusha Yoshihiko“
# and older slower shows like „Kita no kuni kara“

We postponed the watching of several shows, because we feel that at our present level we wouldn't enjoy them very much („SOIL“ and „Atami no Sousakan“).

Right now we're watching „Marumo no okite“ and „Oyako game“.

So what do you think this cranky old couple could enjoy?Thank you for every little thought.

lo0O0ol wrote:Hello everyone!
Please help me out: my wife and I like to improve our knowledge of Japanese by watching dramas.
So we're always in need of some suggestions.
As we are already over thirty years old, there are a lot of things we can't stand anymore — like shallow Aidoru shows, endless „gambaru“-talk, ever returning plot devices like the „big incident/ returning ex“ in the next-to-last episode and stupidities like people running to the hospital with somebody on their back who's nearly dying because he catched a cold after being hit by three raindrops.

Our japanese is not yet good enough for medical shows or shows with a lot of technical or juridical babble. (But we aren't very interested in such shows either.)
So far we liked:
# light-hearted family shows like „Oyaji“, „Otousan“, „Dareyori Mama wo aisu“ and „11nin mo iru“
# quirky shows like „Trick“, „Shikaotoko“ and „Yuusha Yoshihiko“
# and older slower shows like „Kita no kuni kara“

We postponed the watching of several shows, because we feel that at our present level we wouldn't enjoy them very much („SOIL“ and „Atami no Sousakan“).

Right now we're watching „Marumo no okite“ and „Oyako game“.

So what do you think this cranky old couple could enjoy?Thank you for every little thought.

lo0O0ol wrote:Hello everyone!
Please help me out: my wife and I like to improve our knowledge of Japanese by watching dramas.
So we're always in need of some suggestions.
As we are already over thirty years old, there are a lot of things we can't stand anymore — like shallow Aidoru shows, endless „gambaru“-talk, ever returning plot devices like the „big incident/ returning ex“ in the next-to-last episode and stupidities like people running to the hospital with somebody on their back who's nearly dying because he catched a cold after being hit by three raindrops.

Our japanese is not yet good enough for medical shows or shows with a lot of technical or juridical babble. (But we aren't very interested in such shows either.)
So far we liked:
# light-hearted family shows like „Oyaji“, „Otousan“, „Dareyori Mama wo aisu“ and „11nin mo iru“
# quirky shows like „Trick“, „Shikaotoko“ and „Yuusha Yoshihiko“
# and older slower shows like „Kita no kuni kara“

We postponed the watching of several shows, because we feel that at our present level we wouldn't enjoy them very much („SOIL“ and „Atami no Sousakan“).

Right now we're watching „Marumo no okite“ and „Oyako game“.

So what do you think this cranky old couple could enjoy?Thank you for every little thought.

lo0O0ol wrote:Our japanese is not yet good enough for medical shows or shows with a lot of technical or juridical babble. (But we aren't very interested in such shows either.)
So far we liked:
# light-hearted family shows like „Oyaji“, „Otousan“, „Dareyori Mama wo aisu“ and „11nin mo iru“
# quirky shows like „Trick“, „Shikaotoko“ and „Yuusha Yoshihiko“
# and older slower shows like „Kita no kuni kara“

So what do you think this cranky old couple could enjoy?Thank you for every little thought.

We've already enjoyed „Papa to musume no nanokakan“ and found the male lead hilarious.
We've watched the first episode of „Kekkon dekinai otoko“ 2-3 years ago, but as our Japanese at that time was still at a toddler's level, we went back crying to „Tanoshii Muumin ikka“ and „Atashin’chi“ — so now seems to be the right time for it.
I had already downloaded the first episode of „Double Kitchen“ some time ago, but never got around to take a look at it. This show seems promising too.
We've also watched the first episode of „Brother Beat“ a week ago, but need a second one to decide.

I took a quick look at the first episode of „Risou no Kekkon“, „Suekko Chounan Ane Sannin“, „Tokyo Zenryoku Shoujo“ and „Seigi no mikata“ and will now see what my wife has to say about them.

It seems, we'll have plenty to watch now for the holiday season.
Again, thank you very much.

This has probably been asked before, but could somebody suggest some jdramas for 2012 - I don't mind what others may rate them - any genre is fine. Also, if there are any jdramas which aren't from 2012 but you would rate highly please suggest them - I have seen alot of the "popular" jdramas already - alteast those which interested me.

bugmenot3 wrote:This has probably been asked before, but could somebody suggest some jdramas for 2012 - I don't mind what others may rate them - any genre is fine. Also, if there are any jdramas which aren't from 2012 but you would rate highly please suggest them - I have seen alot of the "popular" jdramas already - alteast those which interested me.

I've been watching dramas for a while now and it's a kind of TV-show I like very much. I was introduced to it back when My Boss, My Hero (one of the best shows ever, imho) was released. Since then, I've watched Dragonzakura and Liar Game which come close second on my list. I've watched others : HanaKimi (first version), Hana Yori Dango, even the new GTO (although it's nothing compared to the original manga) and a few others.

But the problem is... I've never watched anything that can compare with those three dramas. They're all so inspirational and "life-teaching" that it's been hard to find anything similar. So my only option is to turn to you guys and gals for advice. If you have any suggesion about that kind of show, please feel free to share... Thanks in advance!

I think it is natural to want to watch one that is better than the ones you admired, however you are likely to find yourself missing out on interesting dramas. One suggestion is to watch the first five minutes of every new series. You will get an idea of the pace of the movie, the plot and most importantly, if you like it.

In this manner, I discovered Tomohanae, a six-episode drama on calligraphy and judo. Enjoyed it tremendously though the ending is a bit too ambiguous, sad and hopeful for me. Why should they take this course of action when there are many other alternatives. By sticking with traditions or culture, they limit their options.

"Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi", one of the best dramas I've watched so far. It's a little bit different though.
If you liked "My Boss my Hero" including the main actor you will definetly like "Utahime" because it also has Nagase Tomoya in the lead role, and tells a really nice story while being awesomely funny most of the time. The first two episodes are a little bit slow though, but after this, the story takes up pace really nicely. I watched it in one sitting.

Last edited by GaussAlgorithmus on Dec 24th, '12, 04:54, edited 1 time in total.

They're all different genres but they've all got a certain special "something" that kept me tuned in and wanting more. It's a combination of good story, interesting characters and great chemistry among the actors, rolled into an excellent production.

> The one plot to Japanese TV dramas I would like to see:
> Ugly kid gets cancer but survives and grows up to be a
> serial killer because no one ever visited her in the
> hospital, not even her doctors. She specializes in slaying
> high school rejects but is cornered on a seaside cliff by
> an eccentric detective who is accidentally pushed into the
> waves by monkeys. Killer then becomes a cooking show
> host, serving whipped cream on rice and corn on the cob
> held with chopsticks...

My favourite dramas:
- Kimi wa Pet - not because of the master - pet relationship, but because the plot was just good, nicely performed and I enjoyed the dynamic between the leads
- Kkotboda Namja (Boys Before Flowers)
- Nodame Cantabile

What I want:
- there must be a developing relationship between characters (evolving further than first kiss etc),
- the actors must be good i.e. no artificial looking acting, good and plausible dynamics between the leads;
- a strong/intelligent female lead (like Kimi wa Pet), had enough of stupid/crybaby girl falls in love with the most popular boy in school.

Things I don't like in dramas:
- it gets on my nerves when main characters are all grown ups and the only development during the whole series is them kissing (Skip Beat! which otherwise was good and I enjoyed it, but not as a romance:/ )
- I don't want the fairytale style of plot (where they realize their feelings throughout the whole series, then there is that one kiss (or rather 'peck') and that's it! They lived happily ever after. Bleh)
- plot twists or developments/obstacles depending on some stupid coincidences/misconceptions.

Thank you very much for taking your time to help me! m ( _ _ ) m
Cheers!